Auror Master
by Phoenix10
Summary: It is several years into the dark future. Join the new adventures of Harry and Hermione, and discover the changes that have left the world in ruins.... And discover the power of the Auror Masters...
1. Returns

Auror Master

Warning: This is not standard Harry Potter fanfiction. It contains scenes of violence and some inappropriate language. 

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****

Auror Master 

Fanfiction by Phoenix. 

No web page for this story as of yet. 

Harry Potter and its associated characters are copyright by J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic Inc, and Bloomsbury. 

************************************************************************* 

Part 1 - Returns 

An icy chill pervaded through the black night; cold except for the unnaturally hot wind blowing south with the scent of acrid smoke. Through the dark starless sky slightly covered by clouds, intermittent moonlight shone on to the thick green forest revealing, little by little, a snaking trail of destruction. Burnt and broken tree stumps lay on the ravaged path - some still burning with small flickering flames - as well as fallen branches and other debris interspaced with giant animalistic footprints. A dark figure wrapped in a hooded black robe ran through the woodland almost silently, the robe's folds flapping gently behind like a floating shadow. The only sound was the dry vegetation softly crunching beneath thick black boots as it followed the trail onward. Emerald-green eyes took wide sweeps, observing the desecrated area. An eleven inch black wand was adjusted briefly by a hand as it sped up the pace. The settlement was close... 

Flames crackled and fires burned. The small town settlement lit up the night, its modest structures engulfed like the wood of a bonfire. Everywhere, screaming and smoke filled the magically hot air as hundreds of people ran, all seeking escape from the terror of attacking raiders. Apparating from the south without warning, burning and pillaging without mercy, huge, hostile magical creatures assisted their trainers in the merciless and violent raid. 

Totally unprepared for the assault, towns-people and their magic were blocked and destroyed almost as soon as it was incanted. The huge, grey seven-feet-tall veela took another long breath before continuing to spit out a long and melting-hot burst of flame that turned the schoolhouse into glowing crimson embers. At the opposite end of town, an angry werewolf smashed through houses with its dagger-sharp teeth and claws at the direction of its master trampling over possessions and structures alike. Meanwhile, almost matching it in damage, the sharp-taloned, golden-brown hippogriffs and the massively horned dragons rampaged through the town hall and community buildings. 

Little by little, the attackers slowly advanced towards the supply buildings in the centre of the town where the food and water was stored. Behind a slowly burning house, a young brown-haired girl screamed as a grinning male raider grabbed and pinned her against the wall. Nearby, the troll he was in charge of watched in interest. The raider slapped the girl across the mouth hard. "Shut up with the screaming, bitch, and take this like a woman!" He began to work his fly open and loosen his pants. A shadow shifted. Suddenly an explosion of pain erupted in the raider's head and the next thing he knew was the feel of the rushing air as he was picked up and thrown violently away from the girl. The hard dirt ground met his back all too abruptly and the breath exploded out of his lungs. "Bastard!" he coughed furiously as he rolled to his feet and opened his eyes to see who had dared attack him. 

Several feet away, a tall figure wrapped in darkness stood watching him, its silhouette all but invisible if it weren't for the background of burning houses and hazy grey smoke behind it. All of a sudden he felt a cold stab of fear enter his heart. There was something familiar about this... Then he growled in anger. He was mistaken. This was just a poor fool who was trying to be a hero. "Urgguf, take him!" He laughed. "tear him apart, nice and slow." 

Already hissing in anger because of the attack to its commander, the large muscular creature needed no second bidding. It gave an inhuman snarl and extended its strong, bony hands before leaping towards the shadow. However, a rapid spin kick stopped the charging beast's attack, while one of its fists was seized and used against it, forcing it into it's own torso like it was punching through a sheet of paper. 

The Troll blinked in confusion before toppling over, its chest a puddle of oozing dark blood. "Urgguf?" the man said in shock. No man could be strong or swift enough to do what the figure had just done. He continued to stare, dumbfounded, before a hard booted foot smashed into his jaw and everything went black. 

Puffing a large cloud of dark smoke, the huge veela eyed the supply structures in hunger as even more raiders surrounded the area in a half-ring of hostile forces. It grunted questioningly to its commander in a rough throaty tone. "No," the tall woman answered with a slight chuckle. "The supplies we were raiding for in the first place would be destroyed." She looked over to one of the other raiders. "You! Use your werewolf to break the walls down. Then we'll have some fun." 

She chuckled deep in her throat as her sub-ordinate directed his subhuman creature to charge through the building. A sudden wet splattering sound sounded from behind them. Turning instantly, they discovered a dead, bleeding acromantula still sliding toward them along the dirt ground from the momentum of being thrown, its blood acting as lubricant. It was shockingly mutilated. Somehow all eight of its own long, hairy arms had been twisted around to fatally strangle itself while its large head was held on to it's body by half an inch of bone that still remained in place, while all the flesh gone, scratched off in the strangling. 

The mangled brown and white corpse gradually came to a stop before their feet. For a short moment there was silence. Then one of the raiders shouted in anger. "My best subordinate! Whoever did this, I'll kill him!" From behind a burning building, a tall figure wrapped in a black hooded cloak abruptly stepped out into sight. The cloak was flapping sinuously, slightly open in the hot wind, revealing a man's lean but muscular body, shrouded in darkness. His face was concealed in the deep shadows of the hooded cowl, leaving only bright, emerald-green eyes visible. They seemed to glow in the dark; two points of flaring green light. 

The space between him and the raiders narrowed threateningly. "Arrogant bastard, isn't he? Think you're an Auror Master with that cloak?" the woman raider mocked. "Surround him!" The huge veela, werewolf, dragons, and their commanders walked around to slowly encircle the cloaked stranger. The frightened towns-people scattered about the area watched in terrified silence, thoughts of escape forgotten. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" the woman raider asked scornfully. "Before you are roasted alive?" Her veela snorted in anticipation, leaving rings of smoke to shine in the moonlight before they dissipated into the darkness. 

There was a dangerous quality to the power that suddenly radiated from the person that sent a feeling of apprehension down the raiders' necks. Then they looked down at the cloaked stranger's wand. It seemed to be an ordinary wand, a piece of wood narrowing around to make a point at the top. Except this one's colour was not a normal colour with a thick base of a different colour, but a one thickness, shadow black. If it weren't for the yellow lightning-bolt carved in the top, it might have been perfectly camouflaged in the dark night as lay in its owner's hand.

She laughed out loud. "That's a weird wand, stranger, but Ruelf will still roast that tiny thing into oblivion! Ruelf, burn that guy into ashes!" The huge, grey winged creature rose up to its full height of two and a half feet and inhaled sharply. A powerful wind arose, the air ruffling the stranger's cloak and causing the top of his wand to sway back and forth. Then the veela leaned forward and exploded a huge tongue of bright red flame towards the stranger. But suddenly the sound of power crackled in the night air, and a shield of black magic repelled the fire. It sparked and hissed violently as it deflected the flame harmlessly to the sides before winking out. "Ginthgilia Xetrovos." The man mumbled. 

Abruptly, the crackle of dark magic and a dark eerie glow surrounded the man. The raiders stepped backwards, startled. They had never seen the like of this attack before. A sharp wind began to kick up and rotate around the stranger. Dust, leaves and debris from the destruction of the town's buildings began to stir and rise. Rocks and planks of wood lifted into the air. The veela began to slide forward despite its huge weight. It grunted in confusion, then fear as it began to slide faster. It flapped its wings to take off, but that was a mistake as it was only pulled into the powerful winds that much faster. The raiders themselves began to get inhaled, as well as everything around them that wasn't securely attached to the ground. 

The werewolf howled as it scrabbled backward, paws digging into the dirt. However the wind was becoming much too strong. "What the devil of an attack is this?" the veela's commander shouted in confusion as she tried to claw herself through the air and back to the ground. It was useless. The velocity of the magic-made tornado picked up speed and soon the town was just a revolving blur to the raiders and their creatures as they spun around wildly. Then the man mumbled, "Tredne!" and a ring of destructive dark magic exploded from the centre of the vortex - from the man itself. A flash of darkest energy was seen and the raiders and their subordinates knew no more. 

The cloaked figure stood in silence. Around them, the ring of raiders and their magical beasts lay unconscious, if not dead, smoking, some even on fire. The veela was definitely dead, its body ripped in two distinct pieces, the severed ends, blackened and frayed. The smell of cooked meat and dissipated electricity hung heavily in the night air. The man put the wand back in his pocket. The townspeople began to approach him wearily despite their instincts to just flee from a man who revealed himself as so dangerous. A white-haired older man who was most probably their leader or Mayor was in the lead. "T-That was most impressive." He looked at the pocket that the wand was in and shivered. How could a wand attract that much power? He shook his head and regarded the cloaked stranger again. 

"B-But, who are you?" The stranger lifted his hand towards the hood covering his head and slowly removed it, settling it back behind his shoulders. It revealed a handsome, young man's face with a scar of the same shape as the mark on his wand, except on his forehead. He seemed to be in his early twenties, although his emerald-green eyes seemed older than their time. The night wind picked up again, blowing the smoke of the ruined village in the background. It ruffled the stranger's longish unruly black hair, causing it to fall half across his face and obscure part of his vision. He blew the lock of hair out of his eyes with an upturned lip and a gust of breath. He answered them. 

"I am Harry." 

Warm healing light from the morning sun bathed itself over the small half-destroyed town. Despite this the air was still freezing cold, causing the villagers to shiver slightly as they worked hard at repairing their homes. The raiders had caused such extensive damage that it would be some time before the town recovered if at all. But at times like these, people could only try. 

The sound of hammers ringing on anvils reverberated loudly in the still air and the sawing of wood echoed among the destroyed buildings. Harry sighed as he warmed one of his hands on the fire and sipped some tea from a mug in the other. Leaning back on to the rough trunk of a tall tree, he combed the hair out of his eyes. Hard to believe this had once been Little Whining. It had been so long. Now he knew no one. They were all strangers. 

He closed his eyes. He was a stranger. A giggle interrupted his internal monologue and he sighed again. Would these kids ever leave him alone? He opened his eyes to observe the crowds of children, infants and teenagers alike as they scampered around his campsite at the edge of the raided town and the forest. 

"Does that cloak mean it's true you're an Auror Master?" 

"Why don't you have any more wands?" 

"Silly, he's only got one wand." 

"How come you only have one wand?"

"I've never heard of a Master with only one wand." 

"Mister, why is your wand a weird colour?" 

And the questions they asked. He couldn't have been this noisy as a kid. He might have been really annoying. A new voice spoke up. "I've heard about the one with the black, or 'shadow' wand." It was a sceptical woman who had been observing them from afar for some time but only now had come closer. She was a pretty, blonde woman who most probably had turned the heads of many men. Harry ignored her, his whimsical mood darkening, and looked down to contemplate the bubbles in his butterbeer. 

"It is said that he was unbeatable and that he was once the top trainer in the Ministry." The kids hearing this, fell to silence. They began to look at him fearfully. Some even began to step backward. "Then one day he disappeared..." Harry put his mug down, picked up his long cloak and stood up. It was time for him to leave. It was always time for him to leave. He looked up to find that all of the children had made their escape. 

However, one of the teenagers was still there. "Mister, I don't believe for one instant you were one of the evil Ministry," she said forcefully. It was the girl he had saved from last night. "No one who was one of them could be as heroic and handsome as you are..." The blonde woman sucked in her breath. "You don't know who you're talking to..." Harry just began to roll up his sleeping bag impassively. "She is right. You do not know me." He clenched his black-gloved fist and stared at it, his thought's a thousand miles away. "You do not know me at all." 

Seemingly permanently hidden behind its dense layer of grey clouds, the afternoon sun slowly slid across its downward trajectory along the sky. Although the wind was beginning to pick up speed, ruffling Harry's cloak and hood, the deserted ruins of the city were silent. Almost too silent. Not even the insects were chirping their songs, though overgrown foliage was plentiful among the stones. He shrugged his black cloak around his shoulders slightly, loosening it. There might be a battle soon. Someone was following him. And it seemed ... like with hostile intent. "

He saddened as he looked around at the far-off debris that used to be London.. This place held memories for him. It was the first city he had gone to with friends. Hagrid, Ron, Hermione. Without them, he would not be where he was now. Most likely, dead. He, Ron and Hermione had stuck by each other through thick and thin. Harry stared at the broken-down wall of one of the old buildings. In fact that was probably part of Diagon alley. Now this city was nothing but a deserted forest of crumbling rubble. Even the air smelled dead. It was just like all the other major cities that had been destroyed back in the Dark Wars. A cloud of dust was picked up by the wind and he held his hand over his nose and mouth as it passed. He could still feel the itch on the back of his neck. Whoever it was, was still following them. It kept a safe distance and didn't seem to be advancing on them... Yet.

His ears pricked up. Harry turned and glanced at the area that the person following him was hiding in. "Yes, there's someone following us." He thought. "But they seem to be keeping back-" The crumbling stone wall they had been walking parallel to abruptly exploded with a hail of sharp rocks. Shrapnel and rubble showered over them in a spiked, painful rain as a massive object crashed through with a rumble the sound of thunder. "What?" He grunted, as he quickly jumped away to safety, just in time, before the place he was standing was smashed, as he rolled sideways along the gravel of the old road. After rolling away at what he thought a sufficient distance, he swung to his feet, jumped and back-flipped away to land on top of the opposite wall. 

He threw the hood of his cloak back and brushed his hand across his temple. He felt the slight stickiness of blood. "Wand! To me!" The piece of magical wood jumped into his right hand once again. Then he turned to the scene of the attack with narrowed eyes. Dust was floating around everywhere. It was hard to even make out the wall they had been walking next to. He raised his hand to shelter his face as he quickly searched. He had not even sensed this threat. Which meant the attacker was one of *them*. 

Finally the dust settled. There was a gaping trench in the wall and next to it lay a huge, brown bag about a dozen feet across. Then with a loud creaking of stone, thick, grey limbs began to sprout from the massive sack. The eyes on the thick skinned, serpent head, suddenly swivelled open. They were an angry red - the colour of blood. 

"TRAITOR," the head hissed. "Erumpentol," Harry acknowledged, turning his body slightly sideways in alert preparation. "IT WAS YOU WHO INTERFERED WITH THE RAID ON THE LITTLE WHINING SETTLEMENT YESTERDAY. YOU HAVE BEEN A LOOSE CANNON TOO LONG, HARROLD. TODAY IT ENDS. YOU SHALL FINALLY PAY FOR YOUR TREACHERY." "I think not." "YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO MAGICAL-KIND!" the Rhinoceros-like creature roared. "EARTHQUAKE!" It lifted a huge stone fist and pounded the ground. The earth shook wildly as a large jagged crack rapidly approached the wall he was standing on. 

Harry leaped high into the air, tossing himself to the side just before the quake reached it and reduced the stone wall to dust. As he landed softly upon the ground on one knee, a hand clutching a loose fold of his cloak steady, the massive beast again pounded the earth in its Earthquake attack, this time using both of its front legs. Harry was hard-pressed to avoid the cracks of destruction heading his way as he turned a backward somersault then hand-flipped smoothly across the ruins. He barely dodged the wildly shaking earth attacks that shredded the ground behind and below him like a rapid jackhammer. Then he exhaled in pain as a piece of rock shaped like a dagger flew up and embedded itself into his leg. He landed painfully and slid along on his chest, the gravel digging into the palms of his hands.

"Calaspos!" he incanted in the direction of the ruin of a building, hoping to distract the huge creature. "Kipaki!" Black lightning began to spark from his wand. Erumpentol grunted as it stopped its Earthquake attack. "DIE," it rasped as the huge animalistic boulder began to charge at the wizard. The ground rumbled from its immense weight. Harry looked up in apprehension. "CihapkuCIPA!" he cried, body crackling violently as it sent a powerful black thunderbolt toward the oncoming threat. However, despite the extreme strength of the dark electric attack, it dissipated harmlessly over the magically reinforced thick-skinned body of Erumpentol. 

The huge, limbed boulder continued forward in its mad charge. "No!" Harry called out desperately. Exhaling a breath in pain, he ripped out the piece of stone shrapnel from his leg, then leaped forward, knocking debree out of the way. The beast careened past and screamed in frustration at missing its intended target. After skidding to a stop, it looked at Harry lying on the ground nearby with a malevolent gleam in its blood-red eyes. It went over to Harry and stood above harry like a cat cornering a mouse. 

"NOW YOU DIE," Erumpentol chuckled. It used the same technique that allowed it to create earthquakes on Harry before kicking him away like a broken toy. Harry uncontrollably flipped in midair then crashed on the hard ground with a muted thump on his back and continued to slide painfully away. His cloak ripped in several places as the rocky and jagged ground's friction took its toll, before a large piece of stony rubble stopped his momentum with a crunching sound. Feeling like his chest had caved in and died, Harry coughed and spat out a mixture of blood and saliva as he lay on the ground and rolled over. Slowly, he got up on his hands and knees, shaking furiously. 

"Now you've gotten me angry, Erumpentol. And you'll see just why they called me the Assassin." His voice was low and calm. His voice was death. The beast looked at him in confusion. It had expected the human to be lifeless. Dead. Granted, this one had once been an Auror Master in the Ministry of Magic, but at the heart of things, he was still a puny human. It had given enough blows into its chest to shatter concrete, let alone bone. "HOW CAN YOU STILL BE ALIVE?" "That's a question you'll soon be asking yourself!' Harry cried, before flipping to his feet and streaking forward so fast that his form blurred into a live shadow. The creature tried to dodge, but it was much to slow to avoid the massive step-roundhouse kick aimed at its legs, then another and another. Dust rose as with each hit, Erumpentol was knocked backward. But the Golem seemed unperturbed. 

"FOOL! YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DAMAGE ME," it taunted as each hit seemed to fail to affect it. But it began to feel apprehension at the furious attack the human displayed. After all, back in the Dark Wars, this one had gained a reputation... Harry paused in his rapid attack, standing on one heel, before seeming to make the very light bend around his fore-knuckle fist as he struck forward with a single massive blow, scoring directly across both thick, rocky legs. Then he leaped backward, high in the air, before flipping around with a one and a half twist and landing lightly on an intact section of the wall. The sound of his boots striking the stone was non-existent. "You were already dead from the first hit," he stated calmly, as the folds of his cloak settled around him. Too calmly, the creature suddenly worried. Time seemed to stand still. 

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE - NOOO!" Its front legs abruptly gave way from underneath it as they crumbled into dust like the fine sand of an hourglass. The torso of the bag-like beast fell to the ground at the loss of its support and toppled over to lie on its side. "IMPOSSIBLE! THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE! I AM INDESTRUCTIBLE!" It tried to lift itself up by the use of its remaining legs, but lost balance and fell over again. Harry held his right arm out horizontally and his wand. "We shall see." He threw himself high into the air. "Time to finish it! Ressathop Denuhta!" Midair, he rolled into ball and began to emit a dark light. 

"FOOLS! I AM IMPERVIOUS TO MAGICAL ATTACKS." The air around the wizard suddenly roared with thunder and began to spark black lightning as it descended towards the beast. "WHA-WHAT IS THIS?" it shouted in alarm as the attack collided into its chest with a spray of stone shrapnel and shot into its body like a bullet through flesh. When the curse had fully entered its rocky torso, the Beast started to vibrate madly, pebbles and rocks falling away from its skin. "WHA-WHAT MA-MANNER O-OF A CU-CURSE I-IS T-THI-" It didn't get to finish its question. Erumpentol's body turned black and its body began to invert into itself as if it were trying to implode. Then the rumble of thunderclaps and flashes of black lightning exploded from within it and instead the Beast was ripped apart into countless tiny pieces of rock and dust. 

When the thunder stopped cracking, there was nothing that could be seen with the naked eye where Erumpentol was standing. A ring of grey and brown dust and rock lay piled around in a circle. The beast's snake-like head rested a dozen feet away, before it too crumbled, like wet sand, into a fine dark powder. " his wand leaped back onto Harry's pocket. There was the sound of clapping. Harry quickly turned around from his position standing on the wall to see a person dressed and hooded in a long Master's cloak like his save it was blue. He or she was leaning on one of the toppled walls of a destroyed building lazily applauding him with their hands. He studied the slender figure more closely. She.

"Only a true Auror Master could defeat one of the eight Master Magical Creatures of the Ministry of Magic." That voice. His eyes narrowed even as something he had thought long forgotten began to arise within his chest. No, it couldn't be. "And who are you to make such observations?" he asked softly. Not answering him, the blue-cloaked figure slowly began to approach, aqua eyes beginning to become visible within the depths of her shadowy hood. Suddenly she leaped up to join him on the wall so abruptly that he was completely unprepared for what she did next. She kissed him. But it was not a loving kiss, nor even one of liking. It was a hard kiss, the type that punished. He broke away from her, feeling the slight coppery taste of his own blood upon his tongue and maybe some of hers, and stood still. He gave no outward reaction. 

The aqua eyes studied him for a while with an emotion he couldn't identify. Finally she answered him. "You know who I am." The hood was pushed back to reveal glorious long red hair to float behind a hauntingly beautiful face. And then the hurt was fully remembered, unbidden, before it changed. To hatred. It welled up in his chest, so powerful it seemed to consume his soul. Abruptly it was replaced by emptiness. He had thought he would never see her again. His voice when it came was a dead tone. "Hello, Hermy." Her eyes, framed by long dark lashes, flashed as cold as an iceberg. "Hermione," she corrected. "And I see you haven't forgotten me." *** End of Part 1 

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LIBRARY

SHADOW WAND 

A wand specifically made for high rank wizards in the defence department during the Dark Wars. Made of transfiguring one's wand into pure shadow. Capable of great dark magic. Only one ever successfully made. 

Attack : Dark Vortex 

A powerful hurricane is formed around the person casting the spell. When the opponents are sucked inside, a ring of destructive dark energy is exploded outward. 

Attack: Dark Thunder Implosion 

The person rolls into a ball and glows with a black light before the spell entering the victim's body. The victim then vibrates and explodes, leaving nothing in its place. 

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Notes: Welcome to Auror Master... 

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Phoenix: Phoenix_HP@excite.com


	2. Reunions

Auror Master 2

Warning: This is not standard Harry Potter fanfiction. It contains scenes of violence and some inappropriate language. 

************************************************************************* 

****

Auror Master 

Fanfiction by Phoenix. 

No web page for this story as of yet. 

Harry Potter and its associated characters are copyright by J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic Inc, and Bloomsbury. 

************************************************************************* 

Part 2 - Reunions 

A slim figure covered by a long white hooded cloak kneeled as it studied the ground intently. Reaching down with a finger, it touched a rusty-coloured patch on the stony surface in between clumps of dead weeds. Then raising its fingertip to the opening of its hood, it licked its fingertip and smiled. "You're back. And so convenient too..." 

A deep, rumbling grunt from behind was the only answer. 

Slight waves rocked the small canoe as it drifted slowly northward down the river, bubbles gently lapping against the sides of the boat. A hazy mist hung about the waters and the sky was grey as an old sword. In contrast to the sounds of the steady current all about them, the green forests on either side of the stream remained deathly silent. 

Harry leaned back against the rear of the canoe and took the time to study the blue-cloaked woman sitting in front of him. She was unaware of his attention as she steered them steadily along with a long wooden pole. He had recognised her instantly even before she offered her supposed name. After all this time, what was she doing here? What did she want with him? He squashed down the dark, forgotten feelings of resentment that threatened to spill over from inside and breathed in deeply. He adjusted the black hood that kept his face hidden within its shadows, and checked the bandage around his leg. The wound left from the sharp stone fragment had been deep but he was healing fast as always. 

"It will be night soon. Let us camp at the next bend of the river." Harry tightened his bandage more, welcoming the pain. "And you will tell me what it is that you want of me or why you are even here, Hermione ... Hermy." The blue-cloaked woman didn't turn to him as she continued to steer the boat. Minutes passed. He almost thought she hadn't heard his question before she suddenly threw her hood back to let her long red hair float in the breeze. She twisted slightly to regard him with sombre eyes. 

"Let's not live in the past ... Harry." 

With her head unhooded, he could see more of her features. She had matured. Especially her beauty, which had shown promise when they were younger, but was now in full bloom. In youth she had been pretty, most would say cute. But apparently cuteness had fled over the years and left adult splendour in its place. Sooty dark lashes were unblinking over her aqua eyes creating an alluring contrast with the pale skin of her face and darker hair. Pink-tinged lips were expressionless as strands of her hair fought the wind and partially obscured her face. However, overall, though much had changed, he knew he could never mistake her for another person. 

But one thing ate at him. There was a strange, different kind of familiarity with that beauty that seemed almost unnatural. Like for the few times the sun managed to squeeze out its golden light through the steel sky and upon her... He finally turned away to stare at the moving scenery of the forest. "You haven't forgiven me have you?" she asked rhetorically, meaning either or both of them. He didn't answer. "But that's okay, since I haven't forgiven you either." 

Anger welled, but was just as soon gone. She began to say something else when the boat rocked dangerously to the left almost unbalancing her. Harry steadied himself with a hand on the edge of the boat, while his other hand grabbed his wand to stop it from falling into the river. A large wave splashed into the boat, drenching everyone in cold river water. Harry rose up on his knees, while throwing his hood back to wipe the water out of his face and the hair from obstructing his vision. 

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance when he saw the long, spiny blue tail snaking along the water around them. He turned to the front of the boat and waited. A second later, the water at the head of the boat exploded upward into a fountain at least twenty feet tall. At the centre of the eruption, the head of a basilisk appeared, its angry, yellow eyes in narrow slits. It screamed a high pitched animal cry as its long scaly body continued to rise out of the water. It began to lower its head to attack. 

Grrrr ..." Harry began. "Ak-ip!" His wand started to gather power into itself. Black sparks emitted from its top. "Wait." Hermione waved them off and Harry stopped. The basilisk snarled as it streaked down, its mouth open in an angry shower of sharp teeth. Hermione's eyes began to glow a startling blue, an almost unholy light emanating from her pupils. The sound of the rushing waters seemed to fade into the background, into a still silence. 

The basilisk froze, unmoving. Hermione's eyes began to glow even brighter. Then she waved her hand in a quick gesture. Simultaneous with the movement of her arm, the large hostile serpent dived back into the river. The light in Hermione's eyes winked out and time seemed to flow as normal. The sound of the rushing river came back. "A Research Auror," Harry stated. "Just like you always wanted to be." Hermione shrugged and replaced the blue hood of her cloak over her head. "You knew my dream," she said, as she continued to steer them down the river. Then added with a sarcastic smile, "Besides the dream that you would ever repay my book that you lost in our sixth year." 

"Oh ... yeah." 

The moon's light was dim in the darkness of the night sky. The campfire crackled warmly in front of Harry as he stared at the orange and yellow flames eat away at the wood. Looking down as he unwrapped the bandage from his leg, he noticed in satisfaction that the wound had healed completely. Although, strangely he was still feeling a bit weak. Enough time had passed by now for him to have fully recovered. Maybe it was just stress. And the shadows knew just how stressed he was. Harry looked down at the fire and a half-smile formed on his lips. 

On the opposite side of the campfire, Hermione removed her cloak and sat down. Harry watched her with slitted eyes as she took some blankets out of a travel pack then began writing in a small notebook that she took from one of the folds in her cloak. "So what is so important that you seeked me out of all people? Why are you even here?" 

Hermione stopped writing and looked up at him. She blew a long strand of red hair out of her eyes with a tilt of her mouth. "Reconnaissance, mostly." He should have known. "So you're just a spy," he said contemptuously. "For the Rebellion, I assume?" He wondered why he had never saw her before now and never even knew about her allegiance. The answer to the inward question came as quickly as it was asked. She had been avoiding him obviously. And a good thing too. "That is correct," she replied curtly. "It's a pointless battle. There's no way you can win." Her eyes flashed, almost beginning to glow. "You certainly did not help matters." He shrugged, uncaring. "That was in the past." "What could have possibly made you decide to fight with the Ministry?" He ignored the question. "So, again, what is this all about?" Hermione was silent for a while, toying with a long lock of her hair. She stared at the fire. "You must have noticed the large amount of Ministry activity in this area and to the east." 

"Yes, there has been more... disturbances... here than in other areas that I pass through." "Well, from the little intelligence reports that we've received, it seems that something is going down at the Diagon Alley ruins and I've got to find out *what*. From the few Auror's that we have on our side we have our own missions. This is mine." "And where do I fit into all of this?" She played with a long lock of her hair. 

"Well I have to admit I certainly didn't plan for meeting up with you. I just came across some of your ... handy work the night before. I didn't even know or believe it was you until-" She cut herself off, looking uncomfortable. Finally she looked at him in the eyes. "Harry, you're the only one who knows how the Ministry operates and who is actually not part of the Ministry. You've been with them a long time. You have information that could be of great help. And I've seen your power. How you easily defeated the Master Magical Creature Erumpentol. 

You've seen the world oppression caused by the Ministry. Wouldn't that be one of the reasons you left them in the first place?" So that was it. She just wanted to use him. Again. Inside, the dark feelings of resentment rose to a crescendo. Outwardly, he showed nothing. His voice devoid of emotion, he shook his head. "Tomorrow we will split up and go our separate ways. I'm sorry but I can't be a part of this any more." Can't be a part of you, he added silently. Hermione shook her head. "Please don't let your personal feelings about me influence your decision. Think of all the suffering you could end." 

Her eyes seemed to moisten, but instead they began to glow a bright blue. "I'm sorry I have to do this, but it's for the good of this world." Harry, startled, began to stand up. Then he shouted in pain as he felt his blood begin to boil. How could she have done it? As he bent over with the unbearable pain, a small cut on the inside of his lip broke open. He tasted the metallic taste of blood. Of course! He should have known that the kiss she gave him wasn't just for show. But she had caught him so off-guard, he couldn't have prevented it. But he should have. 

Stupid, stupid, he admonished himself. Never trust anyone! Especially, of all people, this woman! He began to growl, powering up to let loose a bolt of dark magic at Hermione who was still staring at him with her glowing eyes. "Did you happen to know that the human body is comprised of more than seventy-five percent water?" she asked in an apparent bored tone as her eyes abruptly returned to normal. "And when that balance begins to change, it usually leads to death." She licked her lips. "Amazing what a drop of my blood can let me start when it gets within the bloodstream of a person." 

She noticed his agitation and looked down at him. "If you kill me, you will die also." Harry stopped powering up, confused on what to do. When his pain beginning to subside, he sat up again and held her off with an upright hand. "I guess you've won this one." He was calm now. "So how long have I got?" "About a week ... unless of course you convince me to remove my ... influence from your person." "And helping you do your job just might happen to convince you." "I see you understand." He shook his head. "You've changed, Hermy." "That's true." She smoothed her hair and looked down at the ring on her finger. "You just don't know how much."

It was a foggy morning. Harry struggled to see as Hermione lead their way east towards the Diagon Alley ruins. Dead leaves and other foliage crackled underfoot as they walked at a slower than usual pace through the woods. Hermione may be able to see through the white fog, research on spells, well known or rarely used being her element, but he sure couldn't. It was hard for him to even make out the dark-blue of her cloak in front of him. 

"Chu!" He muttered angrily. "I'll find some way to deal with this ... this poison. It is water-based though, so there's nothing I can do for now, except to do whatever it is she wants." He looked ahead searching for the dark-blue outline of Hermione's cloak. It wasn't there. "Damn, where did she go?" he said aloud, speeding up his pace a little. The toe of his left boot caught on a fallen branch that he didn't see and he almost tripped over. Fortunately he was able to grasp the trunk of a nearby tree for support "Hermy!" he shouted, as he looked all around. The lack of visibility caused by the fog was terrible. He could barely see more than half a dozen meters in front of him before the scenery was swallowed by an all-encompassing white. "Hermy!" 

For a moment it seemed like someone answered him. Harry concentrated on listening to it. It seemed like ... singing? He concentrated even more and could just make out some words. "Shadow and sun, sun and shadow... Refraction of light, what shall form?" It was coming from the north. The melody was strangely, haunting and beautiful. And familiar. He couldn't tell whether the song itself was familiar or the voice of whoever sung it. Or both. 

"Let's go see what it is," he thought, his curiosity awakened. "And besides, I don't know where the heck we are anyway, so following it for now won't hurt anything." He stepped through the mist slowly, but surely, following the sound of the song. As he did so, he parted away low-lying branches from the trees and stepped carefully over shrubs and bushes and other forest vegetation lying on the ground. After a couple of minutes, and parting yet another set of low branches, the mist seemed to give way to a clearing and what looked like an old temple. It was fairly ancient, old enough to have survived through the Dark Wars and then some. The clearing the temple was in the middle of appeared to favour the sun as it streamed down, bright over the structure in contrast to the dreary thick fog behind him. 

The temple itself, although ancient looking, was fairly well preserved and beautiful in its own way with various multi-coloured stain-glassed windows and whitish marble walls. The double wooden doors in the front of it were wide open. It was also the source of the haunting song that had led him here. Harry stepped forward into the clearing, feeling the warmth of the sun wash over him in waves. He removed the hood of his cloak and combed the black hair of his head with his hand. With the other, he felt the sunlight in his palm. Although warm ... it was also strangely cold at the same time. Feelings of familiarity washed over him and he turned to narrow his eyes at the entrance to the temple. As they approached the temple, the song continued. "Just as the shadow has many faces Mystery surrounds the storm." 

"Harry!" Hermione called behind her. "Are you still with me?" No one answered. She stopped walking and turned around. He wasn't there. Annoyed, she lifted her hand and repelled more of the fog to see further behind her. All that were revealed were more trees and foliage. She could hear some sort of melody. Someone singing. Faint. She began to run towards the source of its sound. Absent-mindedly, she dissolved the fog in front of her with an open hand. She should have known that walking through this forest without any disturbances was wishful thinking. 

Harry walked along the narrow hallway, quietly following the origin of the singing. He knew who it was now. He continued onwards. He couldn't stop himself. Finally he reached the centre of the temple. The chapel. He stepped inside, past the open doors, and saw her. She was standing on the altar with her back turned towards him. It was her who was singing the song. 

On her slim body she wore an almost transparent white robe which fell past her long legs and down to her ankles, leaving her elegant feet bare. Long, straight blonde hair fell down her back and almost past her waist. Its colour was so golden it seemed to emit a light of its own. It was her. His danger senses exploded into action, but he stayed unmoving as the door to the chapel suddenly slammed shut with a bang and long chains of white light shot out from each corner of the room to wrap himself up, tight and immobile. More sunlight seemed to stream in through the roof of stained glass windows to fall all around the woman in front of him. 

She seemed to glow even brighter, as if the sunlight was indeed coming from her and not the roof. Her melodious voice continued to sing, haunted, "But together, what will become when that which has split become one?" She stopped singing and the room fell to silence. She lifted her arms above her head and from her feet, a white light began to drift upwards, but slowly as if it were smoke. When the light reached the top of her hands, it seemed to blink once then reform into a white material. First long white sleeves formed down her arms, then a hood around her head as the rest of the light fell downwards to morph into a long robe-like cloak. A Master's cloak of pure white. 

She dropped her arms in a sudden, quick motion. The newly cloaked woman turned around and removed her hood with one elegant hand. She tilted her head up and freed the hair from her neck to fall down her back. Then, looking down at him as he stood helplessly encased in long chains of light, she gave a half-smile. Brilliant blue eyes regarded him with a devilish twinkle in their depths. "Remember me, Harrold?" Her voice was the same. Throaty, sensuous. 

"Ralione," he acknowledged. She looked him up and down. "Even more handsome than I remember." "And you. Still a beautiful bitch." She laughed at him. "I missed you, you know. We were good together. An unstoppable team. One complementing the other." She stepped down off the altar and approached him, walking through the gold chains of light that held him from each corner as if they really were as insubstantial as they seemed. She stood in front of him and unmoved by the beauty of her face, Harry stared into her eyes, finding them doubly familiar for some unknown reason. 

She lifted a slim hand, and with a long fingernail, began to trace down his cheek. Harry repressed the urge to shiver. "Why don't you come back to the Ministry with me? The empty spot in our bed has been empty for far too long ..." She smiled. Suddenly an explosion rocked the temple and the chapel doors were blown inwards off their hinges with a crash. Harry turned his head to find Hermione striding in, her blue cloak giving off an icy-cold steam. Her hood was lowered and thrown back, her long red hair seeming to float behind her as if being blown by a strong wind. Eyes glowing as she accessed her magical power, she lifted her right arm. "Meabeci!" 

From behind her, a large shadow inhaled its breath and a split second later, a cold, vivid blue beam of energy shot forth, directly at Ralione. However, the intended target did a quick back flip towards the altar almost lazily, white cloak whipping about, and dodged the shot with ease. Instead, the beam hit the back wall of the chapel and exploded, sending shards of sparkling ice everywhere. Ralione smoothed her cloak down with her hands. "Pity." She yawned, covering her mouth with a hand. "An interruption." Harry concentrated, his eyes glowing golden, and dark shadows rose up from his feet to dissolve the chains of light which held him immobile. 

The light dissipated to nothing and he was free. Hermione looked at the white-cloaked figure more closely and the blue light in her eyes winked out in shock. "It's you!" Ralione squinted at her and began to laugh. She turned back to Harry. "So this really was the girl who left you all those years ago! How absolutely delightful!" She turned back to Hermione. "Well you had your chance, Hermione, now I'll be taking him back." 

Hermione's eyes began to glow again as she narrowed them. "You just try! Drazzilb!" The shadow she created hovered into the light revealing a large blue, water creature with a dragon-like head and sharp spines protruding from its tail and shoulders. "KAPPA!" it roared as it began to form a cloud of blue energy above its head. Ralione smiled as she lifted her arm. "White Flare." As soon as she said the words, a blast of pure light magic dropped from the ceiling and seemed to explode in a burst of light. "PIKA!" Harry and Hermione covered their eyes from the blinding whiteness. 

When the light dissipated, Ralione was nowhere to be seen. Instead a twelve-foot tall Demiguise with four incredibly muscular arms stood on the altar. Its torso and legs were rippling with pure strength as it stood there, a feral grin on its frog-like face. Its skin was a grey tone and it wore nothing save for a small, black loincloth. Ralione's voice floated in the air, her tone slightly mocking. "Harrold, I'll be back for you later when we can be more alone. For now Demiguisann will keep you amused till then." She laughed and then her voice was gone. 

Harry stepped backward towards Hermione as the huge twelve-foot-tall, four-armed, fighting creature walked forward slowly. It growled at Harry and focused its bright red eyes on him. "I WILL TAKE REVENGE FOR MY FALLEN ERUMPENTOL BROTHER," it snarled. Then it looked at Hermione and an appalling leer tilted its lips. "AND YOU WILL BE MINE." It leaped at her with its four arms out-stretched, growling like a dog. Hermoine took a step back. "Kappa, Glacier Spear!" "KAPPA!" 

Her kappa friend glowed a cold blue and shot a large spike of ice directly at the attacking master creature. However, the oversized ape punched it away almost contemptuously and shattered it on the ground. It continued forward and was about to reach her, when a dark blur collided into its side so hard, it was knocked through the wall of the chapel and several more walls until it was smashed outside into the forest. Hermione turned and saw Harry crouching in place of the Demiguise, feet smoking. 

"I had it under control," she said forcefully. Harry lifted his arm. "Wand, to me!" As his wand leaped into his hand, he turned to look at her. "Sorry, but I can't take any chances with the person who holds my life in her hands." He leaped through the hole in the wall and followed the trail of destruction left by the beast's exit to the outside. Hermione jumped after him, her blue cloak billowing behind her. 

Jumping to the forest floor through the hole left in the white, smoking marble of the temple outer-wall.

Harry did a forward flip and landed low to the ground, his left hand braced for balance. Hermione arrived on the ground behind him with her Kappa hovering over-head as Harry slowly rotated his field of vision. The fog, no longer affected by Ralione's power of light, was seeping back into the area. He had to find Demiguisann soon and end it before the visibility worsened even more. He noted the line of destroyed trees the Master creature left in its flight. Hermione moved forward. 

"Careful," Harry warned her. "Master creatures are almost impossible to sense." "TAKE THIS!" A tree trunk seemed to come out of nowhere. Harry and Hermione leaped upward almost narrowly getting smashed by the huge rough wood thrown at them. Harry rotated backward in the air to alight on a tree branch above him while Hermione grasped on to the branch of an adjacent tree and swung herself up. The four-armed monstrosity jumped out of its hiding place behind one of the forest trees and ran, ape-like to leap on to the trunk of the branch Harry was standing on. It began to climb impossibly fast. "I DON'T CARE WHAT THE LIGHT AUROR SAID!" it rasped. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NOW!" 

Harry thrust himself off the branch and did a half twist to face the huge beast as he descended to the ground. His wand was settled into his hand. "Shadow Bolt!" He threw his wand straight at the climbing Demiguisann. In midair his wand began to glow black and electricity crackled as he began to form dark energy around his body. The Demiguise saw the attack and leaped away to a different tree. The wand exploded through, narrowly missing it, but cutting the tree the beast was climbing in half. The top of the tree fell down with a crash. Harry landed on the ground, his cloak billowing behind him, and dodged as the creature leaped at him again. Its four arms were just a few feet shy from grabbing him. 

"KAPPA! Impale it!" Hermione shouted. "KAPPA!" From behind the Demiguise, Hermione's creature charged, its head lowered to skewer it through the spine. Shockingly more agile than it seemed, the beast flipped backwards, landing behind the kappa and grasped its body with its two lower arms. With its upper arms it began to bash the water monster's head in, with massive overhead swings. The monster squealed in pain and Hermione shouted in horror. "Drop it!" Harry shouted as he jumped up and rotated into a flying spin kick striking Demiguisann's head. After completing the spin, he used his other leg to propel himself away from it by pushing off its face. 

The attack was powerful enough to snap its head to the side and make it roar in agony. It dropped the kappa, and grasped its head in pain with its two upper arms. Hermione's eyes flashed blue as she formed an ice-blade around her fist and leaped off the tree to the attack. The monster recovered from Harry's blow and grabbed her out of the air with one huge hand. It began to laugh in exultation then stopped and screamed in pain as she slashed through its wrist with a powerful swipe of her frosty ice-blade. As she dropped, Hermione did a back flip away and landed safely on her feet. 

"Don't underestimate me," she said dangerously, as she ripped off the dismembered hand, which was still hanging around her waist and threw it on the ground behind her. "YOU BITCH!" the demiguise roared as it held its wrist in agony, trying to stop the fast leakage of black blood. It grasped another nearby tree and broke it off by the base with its two free arms. "BLOCK THIS!" it shouted again as it threw it at her. Hermione expelled a breath and desperately tried to jump away but the tree was moving much too fast. "NRUB REDNUH!" Harry shouted. A dark flash of lightning disintegrated the thrown tree into red ashes that harmlessly fell around Hermione like snowflakes. 

Harry turned back to the giant ape but it was no longer there. "NOW YOU DIE!" From behind, two arms grabbed him like vices of steel and his back exploded in pain as he was flipped over and smashed into the ground with a huge overhead blow. Harry choked on blood as the ape began furiously hammering on his chest with as many functioning arms it had left. A crater began to form on the hard earth behind his back as the force of the blows pushed him in. "I'LL PUNCH YOU TO DEATH YOU MISERABLE TRAITOR!" 

Hermione threw a sharp rock at Harry and it landed on his chest, and Demiguisann accidentally punched it. Abruptly, the ape roared in pain and it stopped the beating. It stood up and ripped an ice spike from its back. It roared again as more spikes began to embed themselves into it. It turned around. Hermione's eyes were glowing bright, aura flaring, as icy steam drifted away from her hands that she had used to throw the spikes. "YOU ANNOYING LITTLE GIRL! I WILL ENJOY RIPPING YOU APART!" it shouted. Then it leered and growled lecherously. "IN MORE WAYS THEN ONE!" 

It began to run, ape-like at her, on arms and legs. Hermione stood her ground and desperately hoped that Harry was okay. All of a sudden, the ground beneath the ape's feet ruptured in a strong earthquake and it grunted in confusion and pain as it was knocked high up in the air by a powerful blast. Harry, in an explosion of dirt, rocks and other debris, erupted from the ground and flew up into the sky after it. "Edalb Wodsahs!" Harry's wand began to glow black and propelled himself into the air above Harry, with a crack of thunder. 

More dark energy formed around the black wand and the air around it seemed to shift as it reformed itself into a black katana, the very darkness of the long blade seeming to absorb the light around it. Harry grabbed the hilt of the sword in both hands and met the ape in midair at the highest peak of their flight. "NOOOOOOO!" the Master creature shouted in fear, seeing the blade of pure shadow. It desperately tried to twist away from him in the air but it was not to be. 

Harry grunted as he swung the Magic sword, cleaving it diagonally through the middle, causing black blood to explode everywhere. After the quick execution, he turned a flip and descended back to the ground, landing with a solid thump and forming a smoking crater with his feet. The black blade hissed with steam as he balanced himself with one hand on the ground. A second later, the two halves of Demiguisann landed on either side of him along with several splashes of blood and other body fluids. Harry stood upright and threw the sword into the air. 

With another crack of thunder, it reformed back into his wand, that landed in is pocket. Hermione was standing in front of him, impassive. "I see it was not a mistake to force you onto my side." Harry spat out some blood to the side then looked down at her. "It was a mistake ... you just don't know it yet." He dusted his cloak free of dirt and leaves. "You seemed to recognise Ralione. How do you know her?" he asked, morbidly curious. Hermione looked away from him with a troubled look in her eyes. 

"She's my twin sister." *** End of Part 2 

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LIBRARY

SHADOW WAND 

A wand specifically made for high rank wizards in the defence department during the Dark Wars. Made of transfiguring one's wand into pure shadow. Capable of great dark magic. Only one ever successfully made. 

Attack : Shadow Bolt 

Type : Shadow / Electricity 

The wand gathers dark electricity around its body and becomes a deadly bolt of destructive energy. 

Attack : Thunder Burn 

Type : Fire / Electricity/Shadow 

A powerful shadow attack with elements of lightning and fire making it possible to burn. 

Attack : Shadow Blade 

Type : Shadow / Electricity / Fighting 

A wand shape-shifts into a long black katana sword. Incredibly sharp and powerful. Thought to be an indestructible weapon. 

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Notes: Comments & Criticisms would be much appreciated! 

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Phoenix: Phoenix_HP@excite.com


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